A lesbian couple
who wanted to marry in Colorado is suing the state to
overturn a voter-approved ballot measure that amended the
state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
A lesbian couple
who wanted to marry in Colorado is suing the state to
overturn a voter-approved ballot measure that amended the
state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder, of Englewood, Colo.,
filed the suit in the Denver County court on Monday
asking that the amendment be declared unconstitutional,
according to the Rocky Mountain News.
"The right to
marriage is fundamental," Mari Newman, the couple's
attorney, said to the News. "The government
can't be telling us who we can and cannot marry."
More than half of
voters approved Amendment 43 in 2006, which Schroeder
and Burns argue is unconstitutional, in part because it was
presented in a religiously motivated manner and has
the effect of "establishing religion."
State
representative Kevin Lundberg, a Republican who supported
the amendment, countered that the women's argument
could be applied to any law, since most laws are based
on some moral perspective, which he says are derived
from religious foundations.
Schroeder and
Burns are slated to appear in the Denver County court this
week on trespassing charges after attempting to obtain a
marriage license in the Denver clerk's office. They
were arrested September 24, 2007, for refusing to
leave when they were denied the certificate. (The
Advocate)
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